Wednesday, March 25, 2015

From School Teacher to

New York Times Best Seller

By Jeff Rivera

While her children ran around her, Ruth Cardello wrote in the
basement of her tiny house in spare moments, worked on improving her
craft, and juggled her day job as a kindergarten teacher.
Then,
when the economic slowdown began, and her teaching career became less
stable, she took a leap of faith. Her brother had suggested she
self-publish. With her husband's support, she turned her attention to
learning the business side of publishing. The rest, as they say, is
history.
Her first indie published book Maid for the Billionaire
skyrocketed up the charts. Over 200,000 people downloaded it almost
instantly. That set her on a path to creating a series that would launch
her career as an author and have her turning down a 7-figure deal from a
Big 5 publisher.
I had the opportunity to ask Ruth about her path to success and her newest book deal with Montlake Books.

How did you get started as a writer?
I've
always been a writer, but I finished my first full-length book in 2004.
That would eventually be purchased by Montlake Romance and become Taken, Not Spurred.
The first draft of that book was awful. I didn't write it thinking that
it would ever be published. I wrote it because I love reading romance
novels and I wanted to create a world of my own.
Back then, I
didn't know any of the rules of writing a novel. I was in and out of
everyone's point of view often in the same scene. Also, I hadn't yet met
my husband, so the horse in the story had more of a point of view than
the hero. At that time, I was riding my own horse six nights a week. The
book was full of horse terminology, horse anecdotes, and a few spicy
scenes between the heroine and hero. Fortunately, none with the horse.

But how did you go from tinkering with a novel to becoming a bestselling author?
What
do you do when you finish a book? How do you know it's any good? My
friends said they loved it, but I had to know for sure. I shared the
book with an online critique group. There may be many wonderful groups
out there, but my experience wasn't the best. My favorite line from one
of my critique partners was that my writing was so awful that it made
her want to bash your head on the wall until she bled. Needless to say, I
was more than a little discouraged.
But I didn't give up.

I
found a local chapter of Romance Writers of America because I've always
considered failure a challenge and they tout themselves as a place
where authors grow. Now, as the youngest of 11 children, and one with
eight protective brothers, I didn't go to my first meeting alone. My
brother, Gerry, said he was coming with me and told me that he was
pulling me out of there if anyone started tearing my writing to shreds.
RIRW of Rhode Island was such a warm and wonderful group of women that
my brother joined the group with me and started to write just because of
the creative energy there.

It was at one of the meetings that I
met Annette Blair. She was traditionally published but had gotten there
the hard way. She'd written a lot of books, entered them into many
contests, received some cutting reviews, and refused to give up. She
spoke about the time she put into learning the craft. She thanked all of
the people who were patient with her and supportive of her while she
was learning. She spoke with eloquence and warmth that I decided right
then and there that I wanted to be her when I grew up.

I started
entering contests for my writing. I went to workshops on how to improve
my craft. I worked with critique partners. I read as much as I could on
the rules of my genre. This was the painful adolescent period of my
writing career. I was awkward. I was insecure. But I was also
determined.

Many beginning writers reading this are struggling with their craft. How did you learn the ropes? How did you hone your skills?

Two years ago, my niece sent me the most incredible
story she had written and asked me if I would help her self-publish it. I
gave her a list of about sixty things she would need to do first. She
called me back the next day and said, “I’m done. What else should I do?”
After that, Danielle Stewart had her auntie’s full
support. She has fourteen books and novellas up now and I couldn’t be
prouder. The first book in each of her series is FREE.

Last
year my sister, Jeannette Winters, who has a full-time job as an
analyst, told me she dreamed of making enough money from her stories to
pay for the new roof her home needs. I gave her the same list and told
her to bring me a completed
romance. If she did that, I promised to get her the best editors I could
afford, help her choose covers that would fit her books and teach her
the business side of self-publishing. She joined the same author group
my brother and I did and finished not only one, but two billionaire
romances. And they’re good. They’re so good I could cry.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

When it comes to love, two wrongs may finally make a right...

Dear readers,

I am so happy to finally share the story of Charles and Melanie with you. Melanie’s determination to do the best for her child will touch your heart. Love won’t come easily to this couple and they’ll both have to overcome their pasts. But, in the end, even a New York City tycoon is no match for a Texan cowgirl. Charles is one sexy alpha who is about to get taken down.

I'm also excited to share this song with you. When Charles proposes to Melanie he sings it. It was made by one of my fans and I love it!

Tycoon Takedown (Lone Star Burn, Book 2)

Tycoon Takedown is a Montlake Romance and available exclusively on the Kindle and Kindle Reading app.

Melanie Hanna has finally worked up the courage to travel to New York and tell an old flame he’s the father of her young son. She’s done hiding and apologizing for that one impulsive night. When her best friend asks her brother to watch over Melanie, her emotional trip takes an unexpected and sizzling detour.

Charles Dery is at the top of his game, but all he can think about is bedding the woman he was asked to protect. When she’s almost killed, he takes what he’d been denying himself and discovers he’ll do anything to keep her—even break his own rules.

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About Me

I live on a small farm in Northern Rhode Island with my husband, three children, three dogs, two horses, one barn cat and an assortment of chickens. If there is a happier place on Earth, I haven't found it.